Nearly Normals

Good food. Friendly staff. Lots of vegan options. Earthy, slightly hippie atmosphere, but none of the smell of dirty hippies. Hippies here are clean. Backyard patio seating nice in the summer. Upstairs setting is bright and charming. Overall, a nice place to eat meat-​free.

My husband loved this place while going to Grad School at OSU. He convinced me this is a great place for lunch… vegetarian?
WOW! The food is great with large portions. I was full and could not stop taking a few bites as the flavor is addictive goodness!
They have great specials, local fair, local beverages and a clientele of youngsters to retirees.
I gave it a 4 as the order process is confusing and the environment is eclectic, comfortable, and a little noisy.
All in all we will be back.

Best food hands down in Corvallis. Go for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Order anything off the menu and you will leave happy. This is real gourmet food hidden in a sweet vintage home. This place is the crown jewel of Corvallis and I hope they stay with us forever!

A Corvallis treasure, I forgot about this place for several years and returned to find the same wonderful setting and food. I’m not a vegetarian but this place never leaves me wanting.

Nearly Normals is a place all its own. Its symbols are irises&pink flamingos, the floral exterior of the converted Victorian manse in which it’s housed is unique–
They have their own line of products sold in the Oregon-​only chain Market of Choice (or Markup of Choice) Amazingly, they’ve been around since the autumn of 1979. It’s a contrast to the vegan/​vegetarian casualties of the restaurant biz in the North Bay (Napa’s Ubuntu, Petaluma&Sebastopol’s Lydia’s, the Café Gratitudes of Healdsburg&San Rafael, Santa Rosa’s Seed) The Pacific Northwest seems to be more plant-​based than the north of San Francisco/​Oregon border corridor.
Nearly Normal’s does have slow service. Maybe it’s meant to be meditative. They DO have their self-​identified «gonzo cuisine»… which would explain their survival. How many restaurants are so out&proud?
They have a good array of vegan&vegetarian dishes. Their veggie burgers tend to be dry, and some of their Asian dishes tend toward the salty. Their highlights are takes on the Indonesian gado gado, a vegetarian meatball sandwich called Guido’s, their Athena’s Delight which is a burrito with Grecian fillings like feta&artichokes, the Galaxy, their Wild Iris Platter (tofu, potatoes, steamed veggies) and Earthly Delight Bowl. They mix the steamed with the fresh.
Now, if only they had a cookbook like Portland’s Blossoming Lotus.

Really nice and friendly atmosphere especially if their outdoor patio is open. It is baby/​kid friendly and have good daily specials. If you’re vegetarian, vegan or gluten intolerant they have a great menu that is home cooked style American texmex.

Extremely tasty vegan meal! I had the tempeh bowl and was wowed by the flavor and ingredients. Simple review, but the food was simple and delicious. :)

amazing vegetarian food. even my carnivorous husband likes it. the back patio and cocktails are wonderful too.

Great Vegetarian food. Have been coming here since 1980. Their specials for lunch are always changing. I do order the Chipotle Tacos mostly. However, love the butternut tacos too. I have tried a number of their entrees. Fresh local ingredients, homemade dishes and the staff is very welcoming.
You may sit upstairs, downstairs or on the patio. The patio is very nice. We have a special table downstairs that we enjoy. While waiting for our food, we get to hear the interesting talk by the staff, while they cook. Yes, we can hear you all. A happy motley crew.
Must try. Really! Must Try!

This is one of our favorite places in Corvallis to eat.
Very consistent and staff is friendly.
The Chipotle tacos are our favorite. We have been getting these for years.

Seriously you need to give this place a chance. I was a little skeptical, but intrigued, so gave it a try last night. The food tastes very homemade, and just has this quality of care and deliberateness into the food. Food is not heavy, or greasy, or really super complex. Food is simple, delicious and just as if you were having dinner at a friends house that you just came to visit without warning. Amazing seasoning ad taste, beautiful cozy environment and GREAT options for vegetarians and carnivores alike. Seriously, if I end up moving to Corvallis this will be my go-​to place for simplicity, freshness and feel-​good food. Prices were not bad and the service was very good.
This place is the ideal one for a casual lunch/​dinner with a friend you are planning to catch up with. Seriously. Try it!

Had the Chipotle soft tacos and Moroccan bean soup. Very good! Only thing I didn’t care for was the tortilla — it was extremely dry and brittle which significantly detracted from the experience with the taste from the innards. Cool atmosphere and loved the outside

When I think of a unique, delicious restaurant that won’t cost an arm and a leg, I think Nearly Normals. Never have I found its equal, especially in the uniqueness category. Nearly Normals is awesome. The pink flamingo is their mascot. They have weird, awesome art on their walls. There’s a tree that grows right up through the middle of the first floor (real or fake? Not sure). Their patio is perfect for a summer day, and their upstairs seating area is warm and cozy on a chilly winter afternoon.
At Nearly Normals, you order at the counter, give them your name, find a table for yourself, and your food is brought to your table. They have an extensive menu, with a myriad of vegan and vegetarian options. One of my favorite dishes is the Nearly Nasty Burrito (or rather, the Mini Nasty because the regular one is way too big for me). I also love their savory tofu, the seasoning for which you can now buy pre-​packaged. I got some in my stocking for Christmas this year, and have used it in every meal I’ve cooked since. It’s amazing. I can also recommend the Athena’s Delight, and the Sunburger, a true classic. The people are friendly, the atmosphere is great, and the food is awesome.
Nearly Normals is a gem. Go there.

Amazing food! Do not pass by this place. We liked the chips & salsa so much we got another order. My husband got a chipotle taco and the poblano taco. He liked the chipotle one the best but scarfed down the poblano one just as fast. I got the falafel. Which was amazing. Definitely give this place a try!

One of my favorite places in Corvallis! I love the huge verde breakfast burrito and the falafels are amazing! Portions can be a little small for price (some items) but other items are huge with sides like rice and beans. Also love their margaritas and honey lemonade.

My family and I have come here about four times now in the last year or so. Every time I’m there I find something new on the menu that I didn’t notice before. Everything I’ve ever ordered is prepared quick and is always overly tasty.
I’m a meat eater but thoroughly enjoy this place.

One of my best friends is vegetarian so living in Corvallis gives many options for her dietary restrictions while also offering delicious and affordable food. We go to Eats and Treats a lot as well as Café Yumm however we were looking for something else and stumbled upon Nearly Normals. As a college student when I look for a good restaurant I look for $ 10 or less on a good portion of food, close to campus in a convenient location, flavorful and fresh food that is presented well, and quick service.
Located off of Monroe on 15^th street, it is less than a block from campus and offers three free parking spots but is located by metered parking as well as two hour parking. At first glance, I am sure Nearly Normals looks like an herbal and natural apothecary. The white building with purple trim and large painted flowers along with a small garden in the front is not what you think of for your typical restaurant. However, that is what I loved about it, it wasn’t your typical restaurant. It was much better.
When you enter, you order at a counter and then they bring you your food wherever you are sitting. The average price of a meal was under ten dollars which is right in my price range if I am going out for food which isn’t very often. I ordered the Falafel, a «house specialty,» and an organic honey lemonade. Both items totaled about $ 12. I then wandered to the back patio since it was a nice day.
The patio is beautiful and is one of Nearly Normals best qualities in my opinion. It was a warm day this weekend and really sunny. The patio has trees and seating in the shade and in the sun so that customers aren’t forced to sit in one area or another. This fenced in patio is strung with lights and emits the sense of a secret oasis or garden within the busy campus area surrounded by businesses.
Less than a minute sitting down I was brought my honey lemonade and within five minutes I had my food as well. The service was really fast. I was sitting on the patio with two other people and they had messed up his order and they fixed it and brought out the correct order in less than 3 minutes, it was actually really impressive. They were also very polite and apologetic about switching his order and offered him a discount for the next time he came into Nearly Normals.
The presentation of my falafel was beautiful. It came deconstructed so that the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, garbanzo bean patties, and tzadziki sauce were on spread out on the plate with two pitas. Everything looked beautiful, the tomatoes and vegetables looked fresh and the garbanzo bean patties were cooked perfectly to a rich brown exterior. Assembly was easy and I liked that I could decide how much sauce to put on to my pitas (I am relatively picky about the amount of dressing or sauce).
The falafel was delicious. The vegetables were fresh and crispy and the tomatoes were perfect combination of tart and sweet and were so fresh. The cucumbers and lettuce were dressed in a lemon tahini dressing which was very subtle with only a slight lemon flavor, giving the cucumbers that extra fresh taste. The garbanzo patties were perfect. It is no wonder that their specialty is in gonzo cuisine. The patties were perfectly cooked so that they were crispy on the inside but moist inside. The flavor was spot on with a little bit of kick in the spices but not to overwhelming that it overpowered the vegetables and tzadziki sauce. The sauce was quite good with a good flavor and good creamy consistency. I didn’t use very much of the sauce, so I thought they gave you a little more than necessary amount for this dish.
My favorite thing I ordered though, despite how good the falafel was, was the delicious and refreshing honey lemonade. It was a perfect combination between the tart refreshing taste of traditional lemonade and the savory and sweet taste of honey. Sweetened with honey rather than sugar, the lemonade was the perfect part sweet and refreshing. I probably could have had six of them because they were so good. Honestly, my favorite drink of all time (thus far).
Nearly Normal’s prides themselves in sourcing their products locally and organically. This is such a perfect restaurant for all the Earth loving, quality gonzo consuming population of Corvallis. I would highly recommend this restaurant, however don’t go in expecting to order a burger and fries because this isn’t what this restaurant is about. Quality gonzo cuisine with touches in American, Greek, Thai, and Mexican foods.

Having grown up in and around, shall we say, a most aggressively hippy-​dippy micro culture, I have come to recognize my thresh-​hold for the trappings of genre and its food. I know it when I see it or hear it (uh, Ani deFranco, nouveau), but most especially, I know it by its signature smells.
Nearly Normals has the vintage odoriferous emanations of my not-​by-​choice, 2^nd-​hand Hippy Dip upbringing, complete of course w/​a most persistent boquet of every card-​carrying Hippy’s most-​favoritest plant, though to be fair, some of the abundant evidence of ye olde stinkweed just ‘may’ have been coming from the sacred annals of ye olde Academia very nearby.
But by golly, when it comes to vegetarian fare, Nearly Normal’s has a well-​deserved place in the universe (Siddhartha would be so very proud). And growing up in my household, w/​mom usually at the helm for dispensing our daily victuals, vegetarian meals were often synonymous w/​garbanzo beans. Thank goodness me and my dear sweet pa happened by there again for the first time in many years, on a «Wacky Wednesday», when the falafel was the special. Nothing quite like deep fried garbanzo paste (replete w/​cukes, tomaters, and that tziidsikezzzzi sauce) to soothe ones soul when the hippy dippystick is running a quart or more low.
There were of course, other appealing daily specials— I’ve had the Nasty Burrito (Tusdays, if memory serves), and though the food was quite good in its first incarnation @ NN’s, it’s reincarnation a few hours later was truly from the realm of hungry ghosts, and yet more odoriferous emanations for my loved ones to continue to enjoy for the remainder of the evening with me. Nas-​taaaaay! Isn’t Karma a bee-​yotch?
Be sure to check out the «Gonzo Cuisine» portion of the menu, for this is truly the heart and soul of this fine and oh so FONKY café! The Tempeh Reuben, Guido’s Italian and that sexy sexy rice and tater masala are all winners. Whether this sort of Gonzo has deliberate roots/​inspiration from the legendary Hunter S. Thompson and his Gonzo Journalism, is not entirely clear. As I ride the astral planes seeking eternal Vishnu, a salient passage comes to mind:
«Every now and then when your life gets complicated and the weasels start closing in, the only cure is to load up on heinous chemicals and then drive like a bastard … to Corvallis, Oregon… with the music at top volume and at least a pint of ether.»
(redaction inserted by moi. RIP, Hunter, you mad dog maniac)
Nearly Normal’s has been in bid-​ness since ’79 (a paradox in itself, since the hippy era had officially long been utterly vanquished and transmogrified into wall to wall fabulous disco by shakedown 1979), and they seem to give a good-​natured shrug to such anachronisms. The bottom line is that if I lived on nothing but these grinds for a solid month, I’d surely be appreciably healthier, although, *ahem*, I may stop getting nearly as many social invites from friends and loved ones, owing to the nonstop emanations smoldering in the hinterlands, in a seat very near you — or perhaps, soon to be exceedingly «Far out.» If anyone has the temerity to ask me to leave the premesis owing to the ever rising pollution index, I have a ready answer for them, as I kick up my legs and luxuriate:
” Namaste.”
(«Nah, I’m-a stay») Oh, aren’t these jokes SO Much better when explained/​spelled out?!?)

Me and my friend checked out Nearly Normals for lunch. I’m vegan and she leans toward vegan, but is not a strict vegan like me. Me and my friend ordered an entrée to split and the daily special which was the burrito.
The entrée we ordered was:
Oh My Gado Gado
Colorful veggies and tamari tofu cooked in our homemade peanut sauce over brown rice. Topped with cabbage-​carrot-​lime slaw and roasted peanuts.
It was quite a big portion and perfect for sharing. The Gado Gado was quite tasty and went well w/​the local Portland secret Aardvark Habanero hot sauce that Nearly Normals had on hand! We even had some to take home so came prepared w/​a pyrex (glass storage container).
My friend’s vegan burrito was the special of the day and just $ 5 which was a bargain. They charged us extra for avocado. A big pet peeve as a vegan is when a restaurant that has burritos charges extra for avocado or guacamole despite my not having both cheese and sour cream. Any vegan will agree with that!
This is apparently one of the best places to for vegans to go, so I say hook up free avocado and guacamole for a customer who doesn’t have a burrito w/​cheese and sour cream.
The vegan burrito came w/​melted cheese. We had gone to check out First Alternative Coop and loved that they had Daiya vegan cheese in bulk and since this was our first time here figured maybe it was vegan cheese. I went to double check w/​the server.
It turned out it was real cheese and the server was kind enough to fix the mistake by bringing out a vegan burrito. I must say the vegan burrito could have had more kick so the Aardvark hot sauce helped and adding vegan cheese option on the menu would be great to improve it here. I think the burrito was OK and nothing special.
I’m sure other things on the menu would be worth exploring. Our server hooked us up w/​a lemonade and herbal tea mixture not on the menu that we split which was nice.
There were three vegan deserts including a cupcake, Berry Crisp, and Dark Chocolate Mousse. They were out of the Berry Crisp. So we decided to split a Dark Chocolate Mousse which was quite wonderful.
I would love to explore some of the other menu items especially the tempeh dishes next time I’m in Corvallis and I’ll be back. I just won’t order the burrito unless they get Daiya and don’t charge extra for the avocado!

The first day I moved in to Corvallis my just-​met fronds took me to this place. It was the first time I went to a vegetarian place and I was completely lost about what should I ordered. However, my choice didn’t disappointed me and now I’m a very loyal costumer of this great place.
At least, once every two weeks I let myself enjoy a Oh my Gado Gado! or a sun burgher.
They change their dishes every season, so don’t miss the chance of trying any of these amazing played they prepare for you.
Price? Reasonable. Used to the student life in corvallis maybe it can feel a little bit expensive, but portions are generous and you can always take the leftovers home (if there is something left to take…)
Enjoy!!!